Hanuman Ji History In Historical Development

Saturday, 28 January 2017

Lord Hanuman is well known for his extreme devotion to Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman is always depicted in the Indian folklaire as an icon of true devotion and a symbol of the power of true devotion and chastity.
Lord Hanuman's devotion to Lord Rama is symbolic of the devotion of the enlightened individual soul towards the supreme soul.
Many stories from the Indian literature tell the tales of Lord Hanuman protecting devotees of Lord Rama and helping those who seek his either spiritually or otherwise. Swami Tulasidas has written these lines in respect of Lord Hanuman's great character, in praise of his powers and also devotion.

Hanuman Ji History In Birth And Childhood:

Hanuman was born to the anjaneri mountain. His mother Anjana was an apsara who was born on earth due to a curse. She was redeemed from this curse on giving birth to a son. The Valmiki Ramayana states that his father Kesari was the son of Brihaspati, he was the King of a place named Sumeru.[12] Anjana performed intense prayers lasting 12 long years to Shiva to get a child. Pleased with their devotion, Shiva granted them the son they sought.[13] Hanuman, in another interpretation, is the incarnation or reflection of Shiva himself.[citation needed]

Hanuman is often called the son of the deity Vayu (Wind God); several different traditions account for the Vayu's role in Hanuman's birth. One story mentioned in Eknath's Bhavartha Ramayana (16th century CE) states that when Anjana was worshiping Shiva, the King Dasharatha of Ayodhya was also performing the ritual of Putrakama yagna in order to have children. As a result, he received some sacred pudding (payasam) to be shared by his three wives, leading to the births of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. By divine ordinance, a kite snatched a fragment of that pudding and dropped it while flying over the forest where Anjana was engaged in worship. Vayu, the Hindu deity of the wind, delivered the falling pudding to the outstretched hands of Anjana, who consumed it. Hanuman was born to her as a result.[12][14] Another tradition says that Anjana and her husband Kesari prayed Shiva for a child. By Shiva's direction, Vayu transferred his male energy to Anjana's womb. Accordingly, Hanuman is identified as the son of the Vayu.[citation needed]

Another story of Hanuman's origins is derived from the Vishnu Purana and Naradeya Purana. Narada, infatuated with a princess, went to his lord Vishnu, to make him look like Vishnu, so that the princess would garland him at swayamvara (husband-choosing ceremony). He asked for hari mukh (Hari is another name of Vishnu, and mukh means face). Vishnu instead bestowed him with the face of a vanara. Unaware of this, Narada went to the princess, who burst into laughter at the sight of his ape-like face before all the king's court. Narada, unable to bear the humiliation, cursed Vishnu, that Vishnu would one day be dependent upon a vanara. Vishnu replied that what he had done was for Narada's own good, as he would have undermined his own powers if he were to enter matrimony. Vishnu also noted that Hari has the dual Sanskrit meaning of vanara. Upon hearing this, Narada repented for cursing his idol. But Vishnu told him not to repent as the curse would act as a boon, for it would lead to the birth of Hanuman, an avatar of Shiva, without whose help Rama (Vishnu's avatar) could not kill Ravana.

Lord Hanuman is well known for his extreme devotion to Lord Rama. Lord Hanuman is always depicted in the Indian folklaire as an icon of true devotion and a symbol of the power of true devotion and chastity.
Lord Hanuman's devotion to Lord Rama is symbolic of the devotion of the enlightened individual soul towards the supreme soul.
Many stories from the Indian literature tell the tales of Lord Hanuman protecting devotees of Lord Rama and helping those who seek his either spiritually or otherwise. Swami Tulasidas has written these lines in respect of Lord Hanuman's great character, in praise of his powers and also devotion.

Hanuman Ji History In Historical Development:

Hanuman Ji(Lord)is mentioned in both the Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata.[5] The word "Vrsakapi" or "Vrishakapi", later used as an epithet for Hanuman,[2]:40 is mentioned in the Rigveda (X:86). Some writers, such as Nilakantha (author of Mantra Ramayana) believe that the Vrishakapi of Rigveda alludes to Hanuman. However, other scholars believe that Hanuman is not mentioned in the Vedic mythology: the "Vrsakapi" of Rigveda refers to another deity[6] or is a common name for the monkeys.[7]

The orientalist F. E. Pargiter (1852-1927) theorized that Hanuman was a proto-Dravidian deity, and the name "Hanuman" was a Sanskritization of the Old Tamil word Aan-mandhi or An-manti ("male monkey"). A Hindi writer Ray Govindchandra (1976) influenced by Pargiter's opinion, suggested that the proto-Indo-Aryans may have invented a Sanskrit etymology for the deity's name, after they accepted Hanuman in their pantheon.[2]:40 This theory was also supported by other scholars, including linguist Suniti Kumar Chatterji.[8] However, the twentieth-century linguist Murray Emeneau, specializing in Dravidian languages, debunked this theory, pointing out that the word mandi, as attested in Sangam literature, can refer only to a female monkey, and therefore, the word ana-mandi makes no semantic sense.[2]:40 A twentieth-century Jesuit missionary Camille Bulcke, in his Ramkatha: Utpatti Aur Vikas ("The tale of Rama: its origin and development"), expresses the belief that Hanuman worship had its basis in the cults of aboriginal tribes of Central India.[6] According to him, the Ramayana may have been influenced by older tribal ballads.[9]

Hanuman came to be regarded as an avatar of the god Shiva by the 10th century CE (this development possibly started as early as in the 8th century CE).[6] Hanuman is mentioned as an avatar of Shiva or Rudra in the Sanskrit texts like the Mahabhagvata Purana, the Skanda Purana, the Brhaddharma Purana and the Mahanataka among others. This development might have been a result of the Shavite attempts to insert their ishta devata (cherished deity) in the Vaishnavite texts, which were gaining popularity.[6] The 17th century Odia work Rasavinoda by Dinakrishnadasa goes on to mention that the three gods – Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva – combined to take to the form of Hanuman.[10]

Hanuman became more important in the medieval period, and came to be portrayed as the ideal devotee (bhakta) of Rama. His characterization as a lifelong brahmachari (celibate) was another important development during this period.[6] The belief that Hanuman's celibacy is the source of his strength became popular among the wrestlers in India.[11] The celibacy or brahmacharya aspect of Hanuman is not mentioned in the original Ramayana.[2]:309 In Jain texts, Hanuman is depicted as the 17th of 24 Kamadevas, the one who is ultimately handsome.[2]:330